---

Whether or not Islamic organizations should be transformed into political parties has become an endless debate in Indonesia. There are times those who tend to bring Islam into politics gain strong supports as in the case otherwise. This book demonstrates that Muhammadiyah has participated in the Indonesian process of democratisation by means of exercising political ijtihad derived from its religious worldview. NU has been exercising ijma - based political participation. By creating religious justification to their political policies Muhammadiyah and NU have played significant role in the ongoing process of democratization in Indonesia. This book is a breakthrough of the study of Islamic organisations in grasping a national picture of the role of Islam in Indonesian politics since it goes beyond Java. It convincingly argues that political behavior of Muslims in the outer islands is not too much influenced by fanaticism or irrational loyalty as the general case in Java. This book is especially useful for those whose interests are moderate, traditionalist and modernist Islam in contemporary Indonesian politics.

---

Suaidi Asyari is the Academic Director of Postgraduate of IAIN STS Jambi, Indonesia and founding Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary Indonesian Islam and Society (CSCIIS), gained his Ph.D. in Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne. Among his works is Muhammadiyah: A Model of Ijtihad- Based Democratic Participation .

---